"Parents residing in North London wants to find an exceptional and skilled instructor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally miss the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most important element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have already been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received notice throughout the media, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, said that despite first scepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want history to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they want to impart.
Adam said the tutor had to be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "They understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who express those concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been brought up knowing and living both cultures. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can function as a representation of UK identity, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will will not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the international society views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
